News & Events

THE Rt HONOURABLE ‘Ian Duncan Smith’ discusses ‘CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILIY IN THE WORK PLACE’

Wednesday 18th June 2008

18th June 2008 Cordoba Group and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) invited leading recruiters and employers to a Dinner at the House of Commons to discuss the Conservative agenda for diversity and Corporate Social Responsibility in the workplace.

The evening was opened by the Right Honourable Iain Duncan Smith, Chairman of the Party's new Social Justice Policy Group, one of several groups that have been set up by Conservative Party leader David Cameron to inform party policy. Iain gave an informed and passionate insight into the causes and consequences of poverty in Britain.

This introduction stimulated a lively discussion focused on seeking practical ideas to empower the least well off in society. Guests left with a better understanding of the complicated social issues that sustain poverty in Britain, new insight into the latest Conservative policy on this important area and new ideas to inform their own CSR strategies.

Peter McDonnell, Managing Director of the Cordoba Group stated “It was an uplifting evening and I think everyone took away something new from the discussions. I'd like to thank Iain and also Charles Walker MP, who sponsored the Dinner, for a truly memorable evening”.

Roger Tweedy, REC's Director of Research said “recruiters and employers are increasingly interested in Corporate Social Responsibility as 'the right thing to do' and as a way of attracting rare talent through their employer brand. The evening gave some of the leading resources in the UK powerful new insights into a complex arena”.

A Dragon's View on the Race for Talent

Tuesday 20th November 2007

James Caan, the most recent addition to BBC's panel of entrepreneurial heavy-weights on the hugely popular television series, Dragon's Den, spoke at the Directors Dinner hosted by Cordoba Group and the REC 20th November 2007 at the Army & Navy Club, Pall Mall.

James made his name in the executive head hunting field with his company the Alexander Mann Group, which he headed from 1985 to 2002 and which became one of the UK's leading recruitment companies.

The theme of the evening was 'the challenges employers face in attracting the very best talent.' James delivered a passionate speech based on his experiences and how the different models for the attraction of candidates can be used to best effect. The evening was highly interactive and the many views of both the private and public sectors tested and challenged the options presented. In summary and after much discussion, the census was that there is no 'one size fits all solution' to the talent issue, the best solution is the solution that delivers the best results, this is usually tailored to suit the very specific needs of each organisation.

Directors' Dinner with Sir Digby Jones

Cordoba Group is continuing its regular series of 'Directors' Dinners for selected senior business men and women representing major UK based organisations.

The event on 10th May was held in collaboration with The REC's Industry Research Unit and took place at the House of Commons, which provided an appropriate setting for a recent Dinner between leading recruiters and employers to discuss UK skills shortages and the intensifying 'War for Talent'.

The guest speaker was Sir Digby Jones, former Director General of the CBI and recently appointed skills 'tsar'. During his tenure as Director General, Digby built a considerable reputation as a passionate and articulate champion of British industry. The dinner was timed to take place just a few months after Gordon Brown's announced his appointment as national training envoy charged with bringing employers, employees and the government together to improve skill levels.

The discussion acknowledged that talent and people are at last becoming a board level issue, and Sir Digby called upon all those present to continue the debate back in their own businesses - sharing the best practice ideas highlighted during the discussion with colleagues and targeting at least one employee from their organisation for further training.

Cordoba Restructure - 1st January 2007

Having achieved a 20% growth in revenue in 2006, the directors of Cordoba Consulting made a strategic decision to restructure the organization in a way that reflects the products and services Cordoba takes to market. On the 1st of January 2007, the formation of a group holding company "Cordoba Group Ltd" with two trading subsidiaries. Cordoba Services Ltd (previously known as Cordoba Consulting) has changed its trading style to reflect the breadth of products and services this organization delivers to major clients in both the public and private sectors. These now include:

Consulting Services
Training and Development
Insourcing
Outsourcing

Cordoba Resourcing Ltd is a recruitment company specializing in the supply of procurement, commercial, sales and marketing staff. Quarter One of 2007 continues to show growth within the company. The sales pipeline is encouraging and to help us to continue the current rate of growth the directors have decided to recruit a managing director to help in the continuing development of Cordoba Services Ltd.

The Gershon Report - 2 years on What's Happened and What Comes Next?

Director's Dinner 29th June 2006 House of Commons

Our eighth and most recent Director's Dinner was perhaps the most successful so far. Sir Peter articulately delivered an update of the Efficiency Review "Releasing Resources to the Front Line - Independent Review of Efficiency in the Public Sector."

The Efficiency Review, written in 2004, set the ambitious goal of saving 21 Billion pounds of public sector spending. Sir Peter talked about the challenges, successes and opportunities and delivered a clear message about how further progress will be made towards achieving the 21 Billion pounds in savings by 2007.

There was provocative debate which highlighted some of the key differences between the private and public sector in the way they are structured.

Organisations that attended included Wiltshire County Council, City of London, City of Westminster, Oxfordshire County Council, Southwark Council, London Borough of Haringey, Metropolitan Police, The Audit Commission, BT, Alcatel, Aon Insurance, Network Rail, Siemens Financial Services. We believe this provided a good balance of private and public sector representation.